Over the last 15 years, the Massachusetts's legislature and, in 2012, the people of the state, have wisely
rejected the legalization of assisted suicide as too dangerous. The legislature should likewise
reject S1384, which despite its name does not provide dying people "end-of-life options."
The tragic reality is that under legalized assisted suicide, some people's lives will be ended without their true consent, through misdiagnosis, persuasion, coercion and abuse, insurance denials and depression. No safeguards have ever been enacted or proposed that can prevent this outcome, which can never be undone.
NPR reported five years ago that up to 20% of people who enter hospice outlive their six months prognosis. In Oregon, 4% of people who enter the assisted suicide program are alive at the end of six months. The difference between 4% and 20% is the percent of people and their families who may have lost months, years, and in some cases decades of meaningful life.
